In tough economic times, individuals and business owners alike are becoming creative in the way they spend their advertising dollars. People and businesses have used their vehicles in advertising their businesses for years. Typically, advertisements have been placed on the sides and top of the vehicles. The back of the vehicle however is the most viewed. With lights and contouring designs, the back of the vehicle leaves little area to connect something. Taxi cabs have for years carried advertising on trunks and the roofs of their vehicle, but everyday vehicles do not want the added stress of big clunky systems.
Trailer hitch signs are becoming more prevalent. People are installing trailer hitches to their vehicle so that they can pull a trailer with a billboard attached. They also are using a board that attaches to the hitch. This requires that the vehicle have a trailer hitch which can be expensive and in some cases requires alteration of the car. Additionally, vehicle owners sometimes do not want the look of a trailer hitch on their vehicle. A sign attached to a trailer hitch is often extremely heavy as well which makes installing and removing the sign a considerable chore.
Magnets are another form of placing a message on a vehicle. They are typically placed on the side panels of vehicles but once again there is not room for any sizeable magnet. Additionally many vehicles manufactured today are non-magnetic. When magnets are removed they must be stored in the flat position or they become permanently bent, thus allowing air to flow behind the sign when it is placed on the side panel and at times causing the magnet to fly causing a dangerous situation.
Wrap advertising or a vehicle wrap is a marketing practice of completely or partially covering (wrapping) a vehicle in an advertisement made of large pressure-sensitive vinyl sheets. The cost of a full vehicle wrap can exceed $2500.00. Some jurisdictions have placed restrictions and even bans on wrap advertisements.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,886, issued May 7, 2002 to Fo Chou, discloses a license plate mounted display comprising a first mounting bracket with holes spaced for attaching to a license plate on a vehicle; an arm attached to the first mounting bracket; a first snap buckle attached to an outer end of the arm; a display panel having a lower edge attached to a second mounting bracket; a second snap buckle attached to the second mounting bracket; and a display panel attached to the vehicle by connecting the first and second snap buckles together. The display panel is detached or replaced by disconnecting the snap buckles. In one embodiment, a flag is attached to a third snap buckle that is detachably connected to the first snap buckle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,247,257, issued Jun. 19, 2001 to Jon R. Powell, discloses a display plate attachable to a rear of an automobile comprising a kit for mounting a message display plate on the rear bumper of a vehicle without using adhesives or other permanent mounting means. In one embodiment, the message display plate is secured to a vehicle ball-type trailer hitch or bumper by means of a top tab which extends laterally from the front surface of the display plate wherein a threaded post of the trailer hitch tow ball is passed through a hole in the tab and the tow ball post is then threadably secured in a hole in the trailer hitch tongue or vehicle bumper using a tow ball nut. In another embodiment, the display plate is secured to the top or bottom of a standard vehicle license plate attachment point by means of two bottom tabs with holes whose spacing corresponds to those of a standard license plate using the same screws to secure the license plate and orienting the display plate such that it is located directly above or directly below the vehicle license plate. In a third embodiment, the display plate is mounted in a square receiver socket of a vehicle trailer hitch. A tubular element having a square cross-section to match the interior shape of the receiver socket is mounted to the front surface of the display plate using an appropriate adhesive or other coupling and extends perpendicularly from the front of the display plate to slidably mate with the receiver. Corresponding bore holes within both the tubular element and the receiver are aligned to accept a cylindrical pin to securely mate the display plate with the trailer hitch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,516, issued Mar. 9, 1999 to Partev Amirian, discloses a vehicle billboard fixedly mounted to a supporting frame having a flat surface upon which a design may be affixed, drawn or otherwise displayed. A pair of brackets join the supporting frame and billboard to a license plate frame via screws or rivets.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,575,950, issued Mar. 9, 1926 to Lawrence T. Thorn, discloses a license and identification card holder for motor vehicles in the form of a U-shaped open, frame member constructed of suitable sheet metal of U-shape in cross section to provide a channel for receiving the edges of the license plate. When assembled, the device reduces the liability of tampering with the tag or identification card in the event of the vehicle being stolen.